Easy Raw Vegan Meal Plans

by
DIANA GAMBLE Last Updated: Jan 12, 2014

Diana Gamble

Diana Gamble's health-oriented articles have been published in magazines such as "The Natural Journal" since 2007. She earned certifications for massage therapy and nutritional consulting from the North Carolina School of Holistic Medicine. She graduated from the University of North Carolina-Asheville with a Bachelor of Arts in literature.

Easy Raw Vegan Meal PlansPhoto Credit Michelle Black/Demand Media

Raw vegan meals exclude meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs or any product derived from living creatures. This diet also excludes food that is cooked above 116 degrees F, to retain the vitamins and nutrients from the vegetables, fruits, seeds, legumes, nuts and grains. However, there are options to make this diet as simple and easy as possible to save you time and frustration.

Breakfast

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If you are on the go, one secret to a successful raw vegan diet is to prep the time-consuming foods in bulk, so that you have all the ingredients handy. Sprouting legumes and soaking grains and nuts or dehydrating foods usually takes the longest amount of time. You can mix and match different ingredients to have a variety of meals. For breakfast, you can slice an apple or pear and put raw nut butter on it. Depending on your caloric intake, you can also soak a few portions of raw oatmeal overnight so that it softens and have it ready for mornings that you want grains for breakfast; just add fresh berries to it. Oatmeal is high in dietary fiber, which is essential for a healthy digestive system and berries are low in sugar and high in vitamins and antioxidants.

Lunch

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Lunch can consist of vegetable wraps or stuffed cucumbers. To make this meal easier and quicker, make a batch big enough for leftovers of sprouted beans from lentils, soy or mung beans for protein. Soybeans provide you with many essential amino acids. To make the wrap, add antioxidant-rich vegetables, such as tomato, onion, bell pepper, avocado, and other vegetables and place them on top of a collard green leaf. Collard greens are a cruciferous vegetable that provides you with vitamins K, A and C, calcium and nutrients that reduce inflammation and cancer risks, according to the University of Maryland. Add the sprouted legumes and wrap the collard green as you would a burrito. An alternative is to use nori seaweed as a wrap or scoop out the seeds of the cucumber and add the ingredients inside.

Dinner

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Your dinner can include raw vegan soups with a quick and simple preparation. For a tomato soup blend roma tomatoes and add Italian herbs and olive oil. Warm the soup to just below 116 degrees F, which helps to make the lycopene easier for your body to use. Oregon State University reveals that lycopene and other nutrients in tomatoes help to prevent prostate cancer. For a creamy soup, blend nuts like soaked cashews, water and spices. Cashews offer healthy oils like the heart-healthy oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat similar to olive oil. Add vegetables like crimini mushrooms for a high amount of selenium, which the National Institutes of Health states that it supports your antioxidant system to protect you from cancer causing free-radicals.

Snack

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Make a large batch of fruit or vegetable smoothies to keep on hand if you need snacks between meals. Always carry raw snacks with you, like a bag of raw trail mix with nuts and dried fruit, or simply a whole apple, orange or your favorite fruit or vegetable.